Three Days, 32 Films at UBC Okanagan

The Traveling World Film Festival at UBC Okanagan will present 32 documentary films covering issues from more than 25 countries from March 16 to 18.

Brought to campus by students and faculty of the UBC Okanagan Community Development Club, the Traveling World Community Film Festival is known for covering a great breadth of topics and for screening high-quality productions, says Carol Kergan, Student Chair of the film festival.

"Film topics include environmental, social justice and human rights issues," Kergan notes. "The films we present are the stories of people from all over the world who are challenging the limits of the difficult realities they face."

The film festival is non-profit and will serve as a fund-raiser in support of the Kelowna Food Bank. Films will be presented in Student Services Centre Lecture Theatre SSC 026 and the Arts Building ART 103. The opening ceremony is at 7 p.m., March 16, in the SSC 026 Lecture Theatre.

The opening film is the 7:30 p.m. screening of Tocar Y Lucar (To Play and To Fight), a captivating story of the Venezuelan Youth and Children’s Orchestra System – a network of hundreds of orchestras formed within most of Venezuela’s towns and villages. The system was founded in 1975 by musician and former government minister Jose Antonio Abreu as a social program to improve the lives of the country's underprivileged youth.

"All over the world, hope shines through the action taken by ordinary people who dare to confront global forces with the strength of belief in their own possibilities and the strength of their own visions," says Kergan.

"Together they conspire to create alternative futures. This festival is in their honour, and the films will educate, entertain, and inspire. Making the choice to come and see these films will be your first step in participating in 'The Great Turning,' so necessary in our world today."

For daily film schedules and details about each of the films in this year's festival, visit the Traveling World Community Film Festival website at www3.telus.net/ubcofilmfest.